THE MELODIES OF MATERIALS

An online Zoom meeting between Rishi and Sathvik Iyengar

A few weeks ago, I was attending a group meeting with my lab mentor here at Georgia State University during my daily research internship. I was rather pleased to hear that the topic of the day was specialized in materials science, so I was eager to take notes and get to know the lecturer. It was exciting to engage in this novel content that resonated with my interests.

Meeting Mr. Sathvik Iyengar in person was both inspiring and motivating. After the presentation, I introduced myself and shared some of the notes I had just been taking on my phone. Mr. Iyengar was very approachable and gave insightful responses that deepened my understanding of the topic, and he even offered to keep in touch so I could read more advanced literature on the complex research and developments of his topic, 2D nanomaterials. My current work at Georgia State University involves chemistry and biomaterials, two fundamental sub-fields of materials science, yet I was eager to learn about more specialized, “pure”, materials science analysis, such as Mr. Iyengar’s work at Rice.

Sathvik Ajay Iyengar is a Ph.D. candidate in the Ajayan Research Group at Rice University, where he researches hybrid 2D materials and nanoscale electromechanical phenomena. His work combines synthesis, spectroscopy, microscopy, and transport measurements to explore atomic-scale interfaces, leading to key discoveries such as glaphene, a hybrid of graphene and 2D silica (the topic of his lecture) and the first experimental proof of giant flexoelectricity in graphene nanowrinkles. Sathvik is also a 2023 Quad Fellow, selected for international STEM collaboration, and a 2024 JSPS Fellow, during which he conducted research at OIST in Japan. He’s also received an NSF Research Traineeship in Bioelectronics.

I was greatly appreciative of his offer to take my contact information and provide me with supplemental papers and articles to further explore my curiosities in his subject beyond the rudimentary notes I took at the group meeting. Even more so, I was grateful for his effort to have a live discussion with me over Zoom to review my understanding and provide more valuable insight into his recent work with 2D nanomaterials and innovation of glaphene.

What is glaphene, and why is it a big deal?

The central focus of Mr. Iyengar’s research and lecture was his team’s discovery of glaphene, a newly engineered material that merges graphene with 2D silica to form a hybrid interface. Unlike traditional 2D materials that stack together using weak forces (known as “van der Waals” forces), glaphene showed strong bonding between the two layers.

Since it was my first time studying the interfaces of 2D materials, especially at such a high level, I was eager to learn not only about the successes of this new material, but the complex, and intricate groundwork that went into making it. In simple terms;
 

• Graphene is grown on a copper surface in a low-pressure chamber with argon and hydrogen gas

• Once the graphene layer is grown, oxygen is slowly introduced into the chamber, which reacts with a special chemical called TEOS, to form a smooth silica layer on top.

• The novelty of this engineering methodology was adjusting the unit cell size of silica to better match that of the graphene, reducing mismatch from 7% to just 0.3%

• Eventually, the hybrid material that results from this experiment is both orderly and distorted.

How do we know that glaphene works?

Upon reading and taking notes on the main research publication sent to me by Mr. Iyengar, I was met with jargon that made it a bit difficult to understand how this material really functions. My brief thirty minute conversation with Mr. Iyengar helped to clear up the testing processes and learn more about why its behavior is special.

The structure and chemistry of glaphene were verified using a tapestry of advanced techniques, such as Raman spectroscopy, X-ray and TOF-SIMS (Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry), and XPS (X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy). In this post, while the exact details of how each of these tests work is not necessarily important, it is crucial to understand how these tests proved the functionality and existence of glaphene. To summarize these tests, they provided Mr. Iyengar and his team with proof of strong chemical bonding between silicon, oxygen, and carbon, validating the existence of hybridized layers.

Why does this matter?

Mr. Iyengar’s work represents a new class of 2D hybrid materials that go beyond weak interactions. His team was able to show that it is possible to form bonds in 2D materials stronger than what was known for the longest time, weak van der Waals forces. By engineering stronger interlayer bonds, researchers can create materials with entirely new mechanical and electrical properties. Glaphene, for example, showed a strong affinity to behaving as a semiconductor, highlighting one of many of its real-world applications. Glaphene could play a role in future sensors, electronics, quantum devices, and more, thanks to its tunable, strong, and utterly unique structure.

Attending Sathvik Iyengar’s talk wasn’t just a fascinating academic experience, it was a true glimpse into the future of materials science and what’s possible at the intersection of chemistry, physics, and engineering. Seeing such advanced work up close reminded me how much remains to be explored in the field and how innovation often lies at the boundaries between disciplines.

What stood out even more than the complex science was Mr. Iyengar’s approachability and passion for mentorship. As someone still early in my academic journey, I appreciated how clearly he was able to explain complex concepts without having to oversimplify them and lose out on important details. He listened to my questions, took the time to look over my notes, and encouraged me to stay curious. That kind of generosity from someone at the forefront of groundbreaking research left a deep and admirable impression on me.

All in all, this experience has only strengthened my desire to dive deeper into the world of 2D materials, a field I never previously looked into, and nanoscale engineering. As I continue my studies, I hope to contribute to this exciting field by embodying the same curiosity and creativity that Sathvik Iyengar demonstrated to me. One day, I hope to be on the other side of that group meeting lecture, sharing what I’ve learned and contributed to the world with the next generation of students, just as he did for me. But until dhin . . . stay upbeat and stay tuned.